Kings vs. Magic

Sports - Kings up next - sacbee.com: "Status: The Magic has its own issues. Two key starters, guards Steve Francis and Keyon Dooling, have been suspended. Francis refused to re-enter a game late and was sent home, and Dooling got into an on-court tussle with Ray Allen of Seattle on Friday, then had to be restrained by security later when he wanted to start up again. All told, Orlando has lost six of seven games and is 0-3 on this Western Conference swing. It didn't look that inspired in a 90-73 loss to the Clippers and didn't make near enough stops against Seattle (113-104) and Portland (113-108).

Trend: One man who always wants to compete is Jameer Nelson. The guard had a career-high 32 points at Seattle on Wednesday and had 19 points and 13 assists against Portland. Did we mention he's lightning quick, too? Hedo Turkoglu, the ex-Kings swingman, had a season-high 27 points Friday against Portland. And second-year forward Dwight Howard has star ability, with his rebounding and interior play.

Injury report: Grant Hill, sports hernia, day-to-day.

LINEUPS

Kings
10 Mike Bibby PG
23 Kevin Martin SG
16 Peja Stojakovic SF
9 Kenny Thomas PF
52 Brad Miller C

Magic
14 Jameer Nelson PG
9 DeShawn Stevenson SG
15 Hedo Turkoglu SF
12 Dwight Howard PF
4 Tony Battie C

Best matchup: Howard vs. Thomas - Thomas encounters one of the rising stars in the NBA, the first pick of the 2004 draft who has played like it, and he's still learning how to do all of this. Thomas is quick and explosive to the basket, and he can rebound, but consistency is key to his game. He wanted minutes, and he has them. Now the Kings need results.